> Peter Bellamy > Songs > Her Servant Man

Her Servant Man / The Iron Door

[ Roud 539 ; Laws M15 ; Ballad Index LM15 ; trad.]

Peter Bellamy sang Her Servant Man accompanying himself on concertina at the Cockermouth Folk Club in January 1991. The concert was published on his cassette Songs an' Rummy Conjurin' Tricks. According to the cassette's liner notes, the song was “collected by Bob Copper from Mrs Gladys Swann of Hampshire.”

The 1977 Topic LP Songs and Southern Breezes: Country Singers from Hampshire and Sussex contains songs originally recorded for the BBC by Bob Copper between September 1954 and November 1957. Amongst them is Gladys Stone singing Her Servant Man. I presume that this is the version Peter Bellamy referred to and that he misspelled the singer's last name.

Lyrics

Peter Bellamy sings Her Servant Man

It's of a damsel both fair and handsome,
Those lines are true as I am told,
On the banks of Shannon in a lofty mansion
Her parents claimed great stores of gold.

Her hair was black as the raven's feather,
Her form and features dissemble who can.
There was a young fellow worked on that station,
She fell in love with her servant man.

As Mary Ann and her love were walking
Her father spied them and near them drew;
As they together so sweet were talking,
Home in rage then her father flew.

For to build a dungeon was his intention
And to part true lovers he contrived to plan.
He swore by oaths and powers to mention
He would part his fair one from her servant man.

His dungeon it was of bricks and mortar
With a flight of steps being underground,
The food he gave her was bread and water,
No bed nor blanket for her was found.

Three times a day he did sorely beat her
Till to her father she crying began,
“Oh if I've transgressed, my own dear father,
Yet I'll live and die for my servant man.”

Young Edwin he found her habitation
It was protected with an iron door;
He vowed and swore of all the nations
He would set her free or would rest no more.

Now after leisure he'd toil with pleasure
How he'd gain releasement for his Mary Ann.
He gained his object, set free his treasure,
She cried, “My faithful young servant man.”

But when he found his daughter vanished,
Like a lion he began to roar,
Saying, “Out of Ireland you shall be banished,
With my broadsword I will shed your gore.”

“Well I agree,” cried Edwin, “It's at your leisure,
Since I've released her now do all you can,
Oh forgive your daughter, I will die with pleasure,
For the one in fault it is your servant man.”

But when he saw him so tender-hearted
Down he fell onto the dungeon floor,
Crying, “Such true lovers can ne'er be parted
Since love has entered in an iron door.”

So they would join to be parted never
And to roll in riches this young couple can,
And this fair young lady she rules in pleasure
For to live for ever with her servant man.